Secular Confessions

[AmeriBrit]

That ID bracelet is starting to sound like a good idea. I am being much more strict with Travis when we are out in public with how close he has to stay to me now. He has to either hold my hand or on to the side of the stroller until I can trust him again.

I've just booked his 4th birthday party. This is the first year that he'll have school friends as well as family and close friends at his party and we've booked one of those soft play places. We have to provide the birthday cake and they'll do the rest of the work for us for 2 hours. I'm just trying to sort through the list of who to invite now. I hope I don't upset anyone with leaving people out and stuff since I know quite a few people take offence regarding the politics around kids' birthday parties these days.

I have been craving a German chocolate cake lately, but my brain keeps telling me not to make one since it's just over a month til we go on our cruise. I have this idea in my head that I'll keep the exercise up a notch and cut back on the junk in a last ditch effort to look decent in a swim suit, but I have such a sweet tooth and it wins every time when my brain and belly argue over what I should eat!

Karen, your siggy pics are so cute! Your little girl is such a cutie!

[daylilies]

Mandy, that's a nice idea to have your cat's pawprint done.
I didn't ask if they did any further tests on the cat but I guess something was wrong with her liver. In the past few days she wasn't eating or drinking.

[Cosmosmom]

Uggg I'm so sick of this conservative slam of women by the govt/politics....below just a few recent things

-You have bills wanting to force medical procedures (instead of allowing it to be between women and their doctor).
-Those who use birth control being called nasty names.
-Santorum is against prenatal testing
-This was what I read this morning in Wisconsin......Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman proposed Senate bill 507 which says single parenthood is a contributing factor to child abuse.

WTH??????

[Cosmosmom]

Mandy

[demigraf]

I know. I've told him he has to wear his wrist leash from now on until I can trust him again to stay close. I kept hugging him when we got home and bursting out in to more tears and he'd say, 'wipe your tears, mummy; it's OK.' :'( I will never ever ever let that happen again.

That is so sweet of Travis to say, Ash. Those sorts of things give me the chills. I hate it when parents leave the big gate to the school yard open at B's preschool, despite the sign there that tells parents to ALWAYS shut it. Their kids go to school there too, right? They don't want them wandering off into the parking lot, correct? I think people get so self-absorbed with whatever thing they are doing or are late for and can't be bothered to think about the big picture. It's really frightening to me how easily one person's selfish neglect could spell disaster.

Mandy, that's good that you got to keep the paw print.

[demigraf]

Sorry I'm just jumping in here without responding to everything else going on. My nieces and nephew lost their father today. My sister-in-law is beside herself and blaming herself for leaving him 6 years ago. Long story short, he's a drug addict. He had a few good years and we were all very close, hanging out with them every weekend, taking family trips together, etc. But when he started using again, he became paranoid, combative, and difficult to be around. At the end of their relationship he was stealing money from Jamie to buy drugs and threatening to either cut her up and leave her body parts in the woods, or kill himself if she left him. The kids have all had a tumultuous relationship with him. Their son (15) tried living with him, but in the last few weeks things became so impossible he moved back home with his mom. Jamie is so afraid he's going to blame himself for his dad's death, yet she's also blaming herself, wondering if she could have done more, if she would have stayed if things would have been different. My heart is breaking for all of them, even Danny. He was found naked outside his trailer home at 6:30 this morning by the paper boy. There haven't been any toxicology reports yet of course, but the assumption is that he was strung out on something and took his clothes off and passed out outside.

Those kids don't deserve to go through this. They're just 17, 15, and 13.

That is terrible news, Chrissy. I'm so sorry to hear they lost their father and I too hope they keep the fact that HE was his own downfall in perspective. It's sad to hear other people blame themselves for other people's self-destruction.

[missychrissy]

Uggg I'm so sick of this conservative slam of women by the govt/politics....below just a few recent things

-You have bills wanting to force medical procedures (instead of allowing it to be between women and their doctor).
-Those who use birth control being called nasty names.
-Santorum is against prenatal testing
-This was what I read this morning in Wisconsin......Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman proposed Senate bill 507 which says single parenthood is a contributing factor to child abuse.

WTH??????

Isn't that just asinine? I'd heard about that. Unbelievable. I don't even know what to say in response to that.

[Cosmosmom]

No kidding. And I think something like 1/3 of the state is single parents.

[MashedUp]

It makes me so angry when I see all the completely ridiculous comments.

[AmeriBrit]

Election time is crazy; I find it very bizarre living abroad at this time of the year. I have to wonder what people are thinking with these latest candidates!

[raspberry]

Karen, sorry about the cookie mess. They were cute in the picture, but I know when you see them it probably ticks you off!! I know it would me.

We went to another school tour today. I loved it, it's a Montessori school that's been around a long time. I just wonder if G would benefit from attending montessori for just one year? For G to attend the 3 years Montessori, I could go back to work, but I don't have a career to return to, not sure I would make enough money. Oh decisions.

Ash, I am no help I have been craving brownies. I have a terrible sweet tooth.

[Suja]

Shelley, my understanding of how Montessori works is that they lay the foundation in the earlier years and the tougher work comes towards the latter part of the 3 year segment. If he only goes for a year, he might not get as much out of it? I LOVE Mira's Montessori. She is so engaged, and now doesn't want to go home. She tells me that she has work to do.

[raspberry]

Shelley, my understanding of how Montessori works is that they lay the foundation in the earlier years and the tougher work comes towards the latter part of the 3 year segment. If he only goes for a year, he might not get as much out of it? I LOVE Mira's Montessori. She is so engaged, and now doesn't want to go home. She tells me that she has work to do.

yeah my understanding is that kids need to be in Montessori for 3 years to fully benefit from it. My dream is for G to attend this Montessori school for 3 years, then attend this other wonderful private school. I am not impressed with the public schools around here. I definitely would have to go back to work, which I am ready for. It's totally worth it to me to work to pay for G's schooling.

[Gwenn]

Today I got a phone call from a parent whose child I tested recently. He didn't qualify for services through the schools but had some minor speech sound errors. I let her know that a private clinic might treat them, although they aren't covered by the school as educationally necessary. So today she called to ask if I'd be interested in treating him privately, and since her insurance didn't cover it she would be willing to self pay.

I know the policy is that we can't provide services to students who are on our caseload. But since he isn't a student I'm providing services to, I wasn't sure whether it was okay or not. I asked and my boss didn't know either, but she asked the director who said it was a definite conflict of interest. The grapevine tells me someone was apparently fired in the past for using the same job I have as a way to recruit clients for a private practice (badmouthing the services the district would provide for free and promising to do it better, for pay) it's just too fine a line to walk.

Ugh, I'm so annoyed people have to ruin things for everyone. That's totally not what happened in this case but I can see how the perception might be questioned. But it's a shame because I figured if I see him weekly I could earn enough (cash pay) to pay for half the cost of my IUI or possibly more, depending what the going rate is here. I could really use the money, and this would be such an easy kid and I could have started right away. I know I can always take other kids - but I'd have to FIND them first and they wouldn't be ready to go, like this kid would. Plus they might not be so easy. So frustrated, while flattered the mom asked me in the first place. Oh, well. I won't risk losing my job over it.

Then I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up my clomid prescription and had the following conversation.
Me: I have a prescription under the name (my last name) (spelled out last name).
Little Girl: What's the name?
Me: (my last name)
Little Girl: Can you spell it?
Me (thinking OMG - I just did and it is spelled EXACTLY the way it sounds) (spelling it patiently)
Little Girl: And what's the last name?
Me: That was the last name (thinking, which is extremely unusual and nothing like a first name).
Little girl - hands me prescription.
Me - get out my debit card
Little Girl: Oh, there's no cost because it's covered by your insurance.
Me: No, it's most certainly not covered by my insurance. It is the clomid, right?
She checks, looks puzzled, talks to someone, comes back.
Apparently it is free because it's not a full prescription. I'm supposed to take two pills per day for 5 days (10 pills total) and they only had 5 pills. Which totally confuses me, because last time it was in a bubble sheet with 10 pills on it, premeasured. How they only had half of that available seems really weird. So they ended up giving me a 2 day supply and she was going to let me walk out of there without telling me that I only had a 2 day supply. I am apparently supposed to pay full price when I come back to pick up the rest.
So, I pointed out to her that I would have appreciated knowing when she first gave it to me that it was only 2 days of my 5 day supply. I don't mind that they only had 5 pills - what I mind is that they didn't tell me it wasn't a full prescription. She just looked blank and said, "but I didn't know." But isn't that her job? It didn't say anywhere it was covered by insurance. She just made that part up because she couldn't be bothered to read the print-out from the pharmacist, which explained the whole thing. Then I asked her when they would have the rest of my prescription available and she said she thought it would be tomorrow.

I am so sick of this pharmacy! They totally suck. And what if I start the Clomid but can't finish because they can't get the other pills? If I take half the dose it will completely screw up my cycle. I REALLY needed to know that before starting the prescription. I will go insane if they don't have it tomorrow.

[daylilies]

How frustrating Mandy!

[Cosmosmom]

Mandy, are you getting it from walmart? I know that is where I picked it up a few years ago...it was maybe 9 for the month vs almost 30 via my normal pharmacy where I work. If they don't have it, can you call the clinic and ask them to fax a script to a different pharmacy. are you starting day 3 or 5 this cycle?

[Gwenn]

Mandy, are you getting it from walmart? I know that is where I picked it up a few years ago...it was maybe 9 for the month vs almost 30 via my normal pharmacy where I work. If they don't have it, can you call the clinic and ask them to fax a script to a different pharmacy. are you starting day 3 or 5 this cycle?

It's at CVS and they charge me $10 for 10 pills. So I'm satisfied with the price, just not the crappy service I keep getting there. I have to start tonight. There are a ton of CVSes in this city (one is two blocks away on the same street) and they must be able to come up with 5 pills between them. But I'm prepared to have to have hysterics. You're right, if nothing else I will ask the clinic to send it to a different pharmacy.

[missychrissy]

Oh goodness Mandy. Two terribly frustrating incidents in one day I'm a bit miffed that your employer is so worried about possibly losing students that they're willing to let some kids possibly slip through the cracks. I get why, but it still sucks for those kids. Do you know anyone you could recommend them to?

[Gwenn]

I'm going to recommend them to two of the big clinics in town. They both have waiting lists, but they can definitely be trusted. I unfortunately read so many reports from smaller start-ups and there quite a few I would run far, far away from.

The irony is that as far as my administration is concerned, the fewer the students the better. They just don't want to get sued for denying anyone services that is entitled to them. Which I can certainly understand. Just sad because this was a clear case of a kid who did not qualify.

[Bridget]

That pharmacy trip sounds incredibly annoying, Mandy! I so wish this whole journey was easier for you.

We are watching Snoop Dogg Bad Girls of Comedy. These women are making me blush! Nasty, I tell ya. But funny. Mostly.

[missychrissy]

That pharmacy trip sounds incredibly annoying, Mandy! I so wish this whole journey was easier for you.

We are watching Snoop Dogg Bad Girls of Comedy. These women are making me blush! Nasty, I tell ya. But funny. Mostly.

I can only imagine. Snoop Dogg himself makes me blush...but I like him anyway. Years before I worked at Cornell he performed for their Slope Day event that they hold every year and there was a lot of controversy surrounding the fact that he was even invited. The feminists were pissed.

[Bridget]

I like him too.

[Cosmosmom]

Oh yeah a chain like CVS should be able to come with clomid. Not like there is a shortage on that drug!

[Gwenn]

I just went to take my pills and noticed the outside of the pharmacy bag said "Pharmacy Action Notice: Out of Stock/Partial Fill" and below it were checkboxes that said "Informed Patient at Drop Off," "Spoke to Patient on Phone," and "Left Message." None of them were checked. Clearly, some employee was supposed to do something with that "Action Notice." So ridiculous that I called her on not informing me of it and she said she "didn't know!" CHECK! You're a $%#% pharmacy, for Pete's sake. If you can't expect a pharmacy to read labels, who can you?

By the way, DH thinks I'm mean. Apparently he's the only one in the household who is authorized to get annoyed with irritating people.

[missychrissy]

By the way, DH thinks I'm mean. Apparently he's the only one in the household who is authorized to get annoyed with irritating people.

That was a big deal and you have every right to be annoyed. I don't usually calls stores and complain about employees, but I might in this case. It's pretty important that you have the full dose...but imagine if it were for life threatening reasons.

[AmeriBrit]

Wow, Mandy, it sounds like that girl didn't have a clue how to do her job. I wonder if she was in training or something with how incompetent she was!

We love Snoop Dogg at our house, too. My husband tries to talk slang like he does and it's the funniest thing you ever did hear! He heard Snoop say something was 'church' once as in using 'church' as an adjective and he tries to do the same some times. I am a fan of rap music but stopped listening to it as much once Travis could talk since he is a parrot!

Cash is starting to talk a bit more and his latest thing is running through the house shouting, "Dad-deeeeeeeeeee, wheeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhoooooooooo?!" (Daddy, where are you?!) LOL.

[3andMe]

That was a big deal and you have every right to be annoyed. I don't usually calls stores and complain about employees, but I might in this case. It's pretty important that you have the full dose...but imagine if it were for life threatening reasons.

About once a year my sister gets a blood clot and needs to start taking lovenox, a blood thinner, to start dissolving the clot so the circulation can return and the clot does not have as much chance of breaking loose and causing a pulmonary embolism. Pretty much every single time the pharmacy does not have enough for her prescription. This is one of any number of major pharmacies in a major metropolitan area, when my sister cannot run around to other ones because she is not supposed to be on her leg. It has happened a lot.

On the bright side (for your situation, Mandy), they pretty much always get her dose in by the time her first few days run out. Also, they should be able to mail or deliver it to your house if you ask. Just letting you know it's not an unusual situation to not have a full prescription, and it certainly does happen in life-threatening cases. They should definitely have told you, though, and I would be letting a supervisor know that you weren't notified, either. You are a bright person and realized what was going on, but not everyone would know. My guess is that it happens more often with meds that are expensive or not commonly used or have sooner expiration dates, because they don't want to keep a lot in stock that will have to be discarded if they're not used.

I also complain about incompetence, and it also bugs my dh. On the other hand, his pet peeve is bad drivers and he will sometimes get a little aggressive with them and I maintain that is way more hazardous given the amount of road rage and firearms around here.

[daylilies]

I'm not a big fan of rap music. In general I'm just not attracted to songs with a lot of words and no good melody and well, that's pretty much rap for ya.

When that song Gold digger by Kanye came out I never really paid much attention to it. It came on one of our Pandora stations one day and I actually listened to the lyrics. I was kind of shocked, LOL. DH was like, where have you been?

[missychrissy]

I also complain about incompetence, and it also bugs my dh. On the other hand, his pet peeve is bad drivers and he will sometimes get a little aggressive with them and I maintain that is way more hazardous given the amount of road rage and firearms around here.

Um, yeah.

I think it's hard for me to not get irritated by unprofessionalism in the customer service field because I know how I was and would be in those situations. It's not always easy, and sometimes you deal with one rude person after another and that's all you're looking at is that you're 15 minutes late for your lunch break or leaving your shift...but still, you have to keep it together for the benefit of the customer. I always managed to do so and didn't find it so hard to act nice even when I wasn't feeling it. And even when learning my job, I made sure to pay attention to detail. If ever someone pointed out an error (I'm human, it happened) I was sincerely apologetic. And it didn't happen twice. Too often I go or call into places and the person is either clueless or rude and I wonder to myself why they even do that job.

I'm not a big fan of rap music. In general I'm just not attracted to songs with a lot of words and no good melody and well, that's pretty much rap for ya.

When that song Gold digger by Kanye came out I never really paid much attention to it. It came on one of our Pandora stations one day and I actually listened to the lyrics. I was kind of shocked, LOL. DH was like, where have you been?

I Gold Digger! I the rhythm of rap...sometimes the lyrics are too much for me though.

[missychrissy]

I do have a thing for bad boys though...so they're my guilty pleasure. Lil Wayne would be one. I know I shouldn't like him, but I do.